Tuesday, March 31, 2009

A Change Is Gonna Come



So, I am returning from a trip to Mesquite, NV, to celebrate Kerry and my first anniversary. Had a great time. Kerry tried golfing for the first time and may want to continue playing. We'll work on that in the future. Stayed the night at the Casablanca and caught a really bad lounge act called Vision. (Let's correct that... the band were amazing, the vocals weren't.)

During the trip home yesterday, I get a call from work. Kerry and David are in the car and we are going to pick up the girls (Bella and Tulip) from the Petsmart hotel. I am told that my shift at the hotel has been eliminated. Only one of the choices would give me the same day off as Kerry. I'm driving, she's really shaken but writes down all the shifts and we proceed to a parking lot to discuss it. David keeps voicing his concern that 'family dinners' will be affected (as we only get to do that on Sundays and rarely on Saturdays) with tears in his eyes. I turn to him and tell him, "David, a decision has to be made and we don't have time to worry about family dinners." The stress definitely brought the joy of our anniversary to a screeching halt.

The decision (our choice of 6 shifts) was to have Monday and Tuesdays off and move up an hour to a 4pm to midnight shift. The consequences of this are far-reaching and undetermined at this time. The show on Saturdays will probably have to be moved earlier to allow time to edit before work. This also ruins one of my favorite events which is going out to Teri and Lloyd's on Saturdays to see UFC fights. Our family gatherings for birthdays on Sunday nights... are in limbo but could be moved earlier. At least, I'll have Mondays off with the wife and can still pick up my son from school before work. Speaking of that... I gotta take care of that right now. Thanks for letting me vent.

Update: Got to work and found out that all the stress that we went through the day before didn't really matter and that I've been assigned a shift (4pm-midnight Fri-Sat off.) Expecting to hear something new tomorrow as they obviously don't know what they are doing now.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Gary Wright - The Light Of A Million Suns


Gary Wright recently released his follow-up to 1999's Human Love album. Well, two follow-ups, in fact -- The Light Of A Million Suns EP (a 4-track set that includes one re-recording) and, the 6-track instrumental set, Waiting To Catch The Light. Let's take a closer look at Wright's new EP.

The Light Of A Million Suns opens with the explosive hip-hop/soul flavored re-imagining of Wright's 1976 hit, "Love Is Alive," with son Dorian Wright. The song is an absolute gem. I'm not saying the other songs don't hold up. The subtle use of steel drum and pan flute add an island atmosphere to "Little One" yet it retains lyrical depth in dealing with a cycle of isolation. Wright showcases another level of his vocal talents on the energetic and driving "This Heart Might Break Tonight." The Light Of A Million Suns closes with the emotionally aspirant "Hold On." The stark opening, keyboard solo, lush orchestration and anthemic chorus make this very memorable track.

The new version of "Love Is Alive" is a terrific launchpad for Dorian and would alone be well worth the price of purchasing the album. The only questions that Gary Wright's Light Of A Million Suns leaves me with is: "Why doesn't everyone have this in their collection yet?"

4.5 out of 5

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Drug Test Me, We Got Another Puggle



After going to the dog park and seeing all these dogs with a compatriot (not a lot of solo dogs), I mentioned to Kerry the idea of a possible second dog. Fast forward to last night, a friend and co-worker comes up to me and says, "Want another puggle?" I had one of those tilt-your-head, raise-your-eyebrow moments. He had recently been down to Lied Animal Shelter and later his wife saw this puggle online at their site.

Well, I told Kerry about it when I got home and we agreed that I'd go check on her today. I got an email from her when I got up this morning saying, "The dog is still there with the number and information." I guess, she was more excited about the puggle than I first thought. Anyhow, went down there and, after a little searching, saw her. A little lighter-haired, bigger and older (she's 3 years old) than Bella. But the whole time I'm there everyone is saying how good a dog she is and how excited they are that she is finally getting a home (she has been there since Jan. 30th.) I sent a photo to Kerry and got a text back saying, "Awww... she's so cute. Get her. Get her NOW!" That I did. And here's a few photos of our two adopted daughters getting to know each other.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Life Update: 030309

Need to start giving you more updates as... ummm, this is the longest I've ever gone without posting anything.

Stress can be infectious. Kerry's family has been going through a lot of it and we've been trying to not bring it home. The only thing that I can do is tell her that we will do all we can to help but, as it is a relationship issue, remind ourselves that it is between two other parties. We hope that things will come to a resolution soon.

Went to Sacramento for my grandmother's 90th birthday. We stayed with my aunt/godmother and were able to introduce my cousins to my wife and son. I need to see them more often. The 1200 miles driving (600 each way) wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We expect another trip there sometime to really enjoy ourselves (and stop by to see Tracy and Jason in Reno.)

Bella is doing amazingly well. She's now about 7 months old and really likes chewing on things. Everything...flesh, metal, wood, paper, rubber, plastic, wire, fabric. I get a scowl out of the spouse when I call the 'little one' a carpet muncher but... she's been having a lot of fun in our hallway. Often we call her and she comes prancing in with a braid of carpet hanging from her chin.

Been scheduling some great interviews for the show. The best interviews always have 3 key components: knowledge of your subject, good questions and a willing subject.

I'm becoming a bit more cognizant of my time issues and have been starting to get more organized. (I'm a work in progress as time management isn't one of my best skills.) When you have a family, you need to remember those simple projects together mean a lot. On Sunday, we decided to check out a nearby dog park. Bella had a blast and we discovered Italian greyhounds are freaking fast! Bella couldn't keep up with them but she never gave up. Kerry, David and myself plan to take Bella there on Sundays (maybe bring a light lunch with us.)

Life has been good to us. We both have our jobs and we are able to get by during a time that both of our industries are hurt. Our family is amazing, all of them. We celebrate our first anniversary at the end of the month.

Expect posts more often. B)